That $300 scan tool that paid for itself in one job

Picked up a used Autel scanner off Craigslist for $300 and it flagged a bad injector on a Cummins that I was about to rip the whole top end off for. Anyone else rely on cheap diagnostic gear or am I just getting lucky?

3 comments

3 Comments

bennett.vera25d ago

And that cheap scanner will probably save you more times than it lets you down, in my experience.

grace_wright23d ago

Will probably save you more times than it lets you down" - man, I sure hope so lol. My cheapo scanner has let me down plenty though. Like that time I spent three hours chasing a misfire code that turned out to be a loose gas cap. Felt real detective-y until I realized I was the one who forgot to tighten it. But when it actually works, it's pure magic. That little $80 box has saved me from buying a new alternator twice when it was just a corroded ground wire. I swear I feel like a genius for five minutes after finding the real problem.

jamesm3825d ago

Heard from a buddy of mine who picked up a cheap Innova scanner off Facebook Marketplace for like 80 bucks. He was chasing a no-start on his Duramax, and the thing pointed straight to a bad CPS (crankshaft position sensor) which everyone was telling him was the PCM. Saved him from throwing a grand at a new computer just to find out it was a fifty dollar sensor. Gear like that just makes you feel like a detective sometimes, especially when it saves you from a wild goose chase like that.

-1